Handle for safe doors



May 5, 1931. F. A. LUND'QUlsT HANDLE FOR SAFE DOORS Filed Aug. 27, 1928 Patented May 5, 1931 FRANK A. LUNDQUIST, F GALVA, `ILLINOIS HANDLE FOR SAFE Doons Application led August 27, 1928; SerialNo. 302,200.V

My invention is a handle for a safe door, and has for its object the production of a handle which, when not in use for opening or closing the door, will serve to cover the lock mechanism by which the door is secured in place.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a plan; and

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of

m the upper part of a temporary safe of the type illustrated in my pending application Serial Number 15,740, filed March 16, 1925.V

In the said drawings, is the upper end of a safe body, and 11 is a door connected to the body by a bayonet-lock arrangement. Inserted in the door are two key operated locks 12, the bolts of which are movable in a channel 13 conveniently cut in the door body. When the bolts are in locking position, the door cannot be turned in its seat to release the bayonet-lock.

Secured to the door at one side of a center line therethru, are two bolts, the heads of which are shown at 14. Inserted in the heads 14 are shouldered screws 15, and pivoted upon these screws is a bail 16.

The central or handle part 17 of the bail is broad and flat, and is so constructed that when it falls by gravity, it covers and conceals the locks 12. l/Vhile concealing the locks is one function of the handle 17, another and more important function is that it covers the key slots so as to keep out dust and dirt.

The bail 16 is conveniently made of cast r metal, and at its ends are projections 18 which extend beyond the 'points Where the bail is pivoted upon the screws 15. When the bail is lifted, the projectionslS strike the face of the door 11 and limit such upward movement to the inclined position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

There are two results accomplished by such limitation. One is that when the bail is released, the handle part 17 falls by gravity to cover the exposed ends of the key locks. The second is that the inclined position of stoppage holds the supporting part 17 toward the center of gravity'of the door, and makes it easier to lift the door when removing it from the safe. This will bev evident from the ,fact that the safe is an upright one, and it is necessary for the door to be held in a horizontal position when being removed and replaced.

The center line of the door, before mentioned, is herein assumed to be the center line of the channel 13. This channel is conveniently placed on this center line, but may be placed elsewhere. The present point, however, is not the location of the channel, but the fact that the locks 12 are on one side of the center line and the handle pivots 15 are on the other side.

It is this distribution of locks and pivotal supports which makes it convenient to use the handle as a cover for the locks, and at the same time make the handle so that it can support a heavy door in a horizontal position.

The broad handle 17 not only serves as a convenient cover for the locks 12, but the upperV face serves as a convenient place for an inscription which will indicate the rela-- tionship of the locks tothe means for opening the safe,-eommonly called a cash protector. The inscription is placed Within a recess surrounded by a border or rim 19.

Se far the handle 16-17 has been referred to as a device for lifting the door and for covering the key slots. Its primary object, however, also includes the turning ,of the door in itsseat to release the bayonet-lock .as well as the lifting of the door after it is released. As a consequence, the handle is lmade more substantial than would be necessary if it had nothing to do other than act as a cover and to lift a weight.

This safe has been referred to as an upright one into which cash is inserted thru a slot 20 covered by a hinged lid 21, and from which the cash is removed after turning and lifting the door 11. The same kind of handle may be used on a horizontal safe, or on a door which is hinged. In either case, the handle would serve as an opening means, and also as a means for covering the plurality oi key slots involved in the locking operations of a safe of this type.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a safe door, of aV handle in the form of a bail for lifting said door, pivots for the handle, said pivots being located at one side of the center of gravity of the door, and stopping means for limiting the movement of the handle on its pivots, said stopping means serving to retain the central part of the handle nearer to the center of gravity of the door than the pivots by which the handle is connected to the door.

2. The combination with a safe door, of a handle pivoted to the door in an off-center position, and stoppingmeans for limiting the pivotal movement of the handle so that the hand gripped portion thereof will be retained nearer to the center part of the door than is the pivoted portion.

FRANK A. LUNDQUIST. 

